what do you think of my list of schools?

[brownie2003]

hi guys,
what do you think of my list of schools? i have a 4.0 from an ivy, 31R, PBK, honors thesis, 2 summers and a year of research, leadership positions, volunteering in community for 4 years, non-URM, not a cali resident

okay here goes:

the almost impossible
UCSF
UCLA
UCSD
Harvard
UPenn
Stanford
Yale

the little less impossible, but still almost impossible
UPitt
UVA
Emory
Brown
NYU
Dartmouth
UChicago
URochester
Albert Einstein
CaseWestern

the maybes:
Tulane
Wake Forest
Boston U
Tufts

Please help!! Am I aiming too high????? Will I even get a look from some of these schools? Which schools do you think will not give me secondaries?

Thank you,
Brownie

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Premed2003]

If you're not a California resident, then don't even waste time or money on UC schools. There is no way that you - or anyone else for that matter - will get in. They accept so few people out of state that you shouldn't even apply.

Replace your 3 UC schools with realistic reaches where you have a great chance - Duke, Cornell, Columbia

Brown <--THEY DON'T ACCEPT PEOPLE NOT IN THEIR PLME PROGRAM. DON'T APPLY

YES, YOURE "MAYBES" ARE ALL SAFETIES. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR STATE SCHOOL??? TUFTS AND BU ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AND NOT WORTH THEIR PRICE. IF YOU HAVE A STATE SCHOOL FROM A MEDIOCRE STATE (LET'S SAY FLORIDA) THEN WITH YOUR STATS YOU'RE A SHOE IN TO FLORIDA AND YOU DON'T NEED TO BOTHER WITH EXPENSIVE SCHOOLS LIKE TUFTS OR BU. I THINK YOU'LL GET INTO MOST OF THE "LESS IMPOSSIBLE" SCHOOLS THAT YOU LISTED - ESPECIALLY EINSTEIN AND ROCHESTER.

 

[brownie2003]

p.s. my worry is the discrepency between my GPA and MCAT score (pretty much below average for the schools I'm applying to)

 

[Premed2003]

You can't be serious. A 31 is excellent. And there is no discrepency. 4.0Ivy +31 MCAT = excellent

I have similar stats from an Ivy and going to Baylor.

 

[maoeris]

are you joking those are outstanding stats. Apply to one or two UC that you really want to go to. They do accept a few ivies per year that are non ca res. Eliminate the maybe's, or keep just one. Good luck!

 

[UCLAMAN]

What are you worried about? I don't see a discrepancy between your gpa and mcat. Assuming your ECs are up to par you have a great shot at a lot of the top 25 schools.

I interviewed at a lot of the schools in your "a little less impossible, but still almost impossible" category. I even got an interview from Stanford and I had a 3.77 and 30 from UCLA.

It cracks me up where premeds get their info from. Whatever made you believe your gpa and mcats have such a huge discrepancy that you are a longshot at many schools?

The only schools you should remove from your list would be the UC's unless you are a cali resident. Your 31 may be a little low for their out of state standards(not that they have a cut and dry cutoff point that I know of). But your stats are fine for all the other schools. Even then, if you have the cash flow to boot, you may want to include the UC's just to see what happens. You may get lucky with your 31 and 4.0.

I'd also suggest checking out www.mdapplicants.com so you have an idea where people with similar stats to you are getting interviews and ultimately being accepted at.

 

[brownie2003]

thanks for the support guys. i guess i'm intimidated by the average MCAT scores of these schools. top 20 schools are hovering around 10.5-11.5!!! and i have a 9,10,12. with a 9 in verbal, i fear i just won't be looked at...

 

[brownie2003]

okay, my last posted sounded crazy..i know. it's just that i heard of rumors of some schools having a minimum of 10 on MCAT sections

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by brownie2003
thanks for the support guys. i guess i'm intimidated by the average MCAT scores of these schools. top 20 schools are hovering around 10.5-11.5!!! and i have a 9,10,12. with a 9 in verbal, i fear i just won't be looked at...

I had an 8 in verbal...In fact I had a 8V 10PS 12BS and a 3.77.

I got 11 interview invites. GWU, USC, Dartmouth, UPitt, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Albert Einstein, Stanford, Oregon Health Sciences, Drexel, and New York Med. So far accepted to Dartmouth and Northwestern.

...and to think...your gpa is better than mine and comes from an ivy league which definitely gets more weight than my 3.77 from ucla. ...and I was an august mcater.

You will be fine. Relax...have a beer!

 

[brownie2003]

awwww thanks! i needed someone to calm me down congrats on getting into northwestern, uclaman. i would love to go to that school. have an awesome time next year!

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by brownie2003
awwww thanks! i needed someone to calm me down congrats on getting into northwestern, uclaman. i would love to go to that school. have an awesome time next year!

You're welcome.

BTW...(my shameless plug for Northwestern. )...

How can you apply to UChicago and not to Northwestern? Do you really want deal with their traditional curriculum and letter grades?(At least I think they have letter grades. I forget) UChicago isn't in the greatest area either. I say toss UChicago and apply to Northwestern!

 

[Street Philosopher]

How about this?

add:
USC
Michigan
Columbia
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Northwestern

remove:
-Brown (very few spots unless you're Brown HPME)
-UCSF (out of state)
-UCLA (out of state)
-UCSD (out of state)
-UVA (I think tuition is incredibly high here)
-Tufts (unreliable in their criteria)
-Boston U (unreliable in their criteria)

 

[neofight]

Originally posted by UCLAMAN

...and to think...your gpa is better than mine and comes from an ivy league which definitely gets more weight than my 3.77 from ucla. ...and I was an august mcater.

UCLAMAN, you make it seem like UCLA doesn't match up with any ivy league school. I mean, UCLA is not exactly harvard, but at the same time UCLA could hang at the least with those lower tiered ivy's. Oh yeah, UCLA has more international recognition than some of those ivys.

But, I'm sure you already know all this.

Sorry, don't mean to move away from the focus of this thread.

To the OP: Your stats are pretty good. I think you might as well give yourself a shot by applying to some of those UCs cause you just never know for sure. You just might get lucky and some of those adcoms just might take an interest on you depending on how you package your application.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by neofight
UCLAMAN, you make it seem like UCLA doesn't match up with any ivy league school. I mean, UCLA is not exactly harvard, but at the same time UCLA could hang at the least with those lower tiered ivy's. Oh yeah, UCLA has more international recognition than some of those ivys.

I guess you're right. Depends on which ivy we're talking about i guess.

I do know(from a friend who's an M2 at UCLA right now) that a ucla gpa was only multiplied(or maybe added. i forget) by 2 whereas a similar gpa from a place like Harvard had a factor of 3.

Judging from the op's screenname I'd imagine she is from Brown. I'd imagine Brown would probably be on par with UCLA(if not given the higher factor).

 

[brownie2003]

yep! definitely putting northwestern in so i **might** see you around, UCLAMAN!

what's wrong with BU and Tufts?

 

[IrishOarsman]

Originally posted by UCLAMAN
How can you apply to UChicago and not to Northwestern? Do you really want deal with their traditional curriculum and letter grades?(At least I think they have letter grades. I forget) UChicago isn't in the greatest area either. I say toss UChicago and apply to Northwestern!

Shameless counter-plug...
I work at U of C during the summers and the people there are pretty excellent. Plus the semi shady area (yeah, I had a bike stolen but that could happen in my suburb too) gives you excellent patient opportunities (trust me, the ER late night is the place to be

 

[merlin17]

BU and Tufts are often disliked because they have nearly the highest average debt for graduating M4s...their tution is much higher than other private schools and they have NO grants which many schools do.

Brown I think does have some spots for Brown students...so that might not be a bad option.

Brown/Dartmouth...also a good option since you may be given a bit of preference if you are from Brown and even more so if you are a RI resident.

Definitely add Michigan and Columbia.

Drop all UC's if you are out of state.

 

[Gabes]

Brownie, what is your home state? The schools you've listed are really expensive. I remember not thinking about that factor much prior to applications, but in retrospect I would have applied to a few schools with more reasonable tuition. Although, with your stats, and IF you apply early, there is a shot for scholarship/grants.

Good Luck.

 

[brownie2003]

I am part of the WWAMI states. UW is my state school...and hard to get into!! yeah...price is definitely an issue for me...but i figure i could have loans for the rest of my life. how do you apply for scholarships? aren't my MCATs too low to qualify for academic scholarships? which out of state schools have more reasonable tuition?

thank you everyone for the help!!!

ps-isn't UMich hard to get into if you're out of state? don't you need pretty high MCATs?

 

[batman123]

Originally posted by UCLAMAN
I interviewed at a lot of the schools in your "a little less impossible, but still almost impossible" category. I even got an interview from Stanford and I had a 3.77 and 30 from UCLA.

It cracks me up where premeds get their info from. Whatever made you believe your gpa and mcats have such a huge discrepancy that you are a longshot at many schools?

I think she has a fair question; please don't flame me for this response, but I have close friends with better stats from top 20 universities who had all the ECs/good recs/ etc. who were only accepted to their state schools. A close friend of mine had a 3.8 and a 39S MCAT, started a campaign to provide free birth counseling services to impoverished neighborhoods, and had other standout qualities. Not a single USNews top 30 school interviewed him this year, and the only school who took him was Michigan State (they are very lucky to be getting this guy in their class).

I had to REAPPLY with what I thought was a decent GPA and above average MCAT from a top 15 university. Nothing can be taken for granted in this process, especially with the tip-top places. That being said, I think the OP's list of schools are a good mix, but that he/she should consider some "less selective" places (I cringe when I use that term), AND UWash definitely.

Apply to BU... It's the only school that took me, and if you're into big cities with lots to do both within medicine and outside it you'll be impressed.

 

[batman123]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
How about this?
-Tufts (unreliable in their criteria)
-Boston U (unreliable in their criteria)

I'd say that every medical school is unreliable in their admissions criteria, and that BU is no different from any other med school in its random acceptance patterns (okay I'm also trying to defend my future med school);

 

[womansurg]

Originally posted by batman123
A close friend of mine had a 3.8 and a 39S MCAT, started a campaign to provide free birth counseling services to impoverished neighborhoods, and had other standout qualities. Not a single USNews top 30 school interviewed him this year, and the only school who took him was Michigan State (they are very lucky to be getting this guy in their class).

There was some problem with his application. He wasn't not getting interviews because his numbers weren't good; these numbers meet or beat the averages at the top 30 schools.

You do have a good point, however. One never knows how things will shake down.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by batman123
I think she has a fair question; please don't flame me for this response, but I have close friends with better stats from top 20 universities who had all the ECs/good recs/ etc. who were only accepted to their state schools. A close friend of mine had a 3.8 and a 39S MCAT, started a campaign to provide free birth counseling services to impoverished neighborhoods, and had other standout qualities. Not a single USNews top 30 school interviewed him this year, and the only school who took him was Michigan State (they are very lucky to be getting this guy in their class).

I had to REAPPLY with what I thought was a decent GPA and above average MCAT from a top 15 university. Nothing can be taken for granted in this process, especially with the tip-top places.

I agree...stuff happens in this process. But I doubt your friend's stats were the issue. I was just trying to point out to the op that her stats are fine(which they are). As amazing as your friend was I'm pretty sure stats weren't the issue. Perhaps there was a bad LOR, or he did not apply to enough top 30 schools, or it was a bad personal satement, or he was simply a very bad interviewer. There are tons of reasons...heck it could even be just plain bad luck.

Certainly the op isn't free and clear because there are many other factors other than gpa and mcat that make up a good applicant. With that said...i still say that her stats are fine. Assuming she applies to enough schools, the rest of her application(ECs, LORs, essays) are outstanding, and interviews fairly decently, she should be fine and get in somewhere.

Her stats aren't what will keep her out of medical school though. Thats all I was trying to point out with my previous post.

 

[Street Philosopher]

don't underestimate the ability of a bad LOR to screw you over. a friend of a friend had something like a 3.7/32+ and was rejected EVERYWHERE. he later found out that one of his LOR writers wrote an unfavorable letter.

 

[bentez]

I would not count out the UC schools if you think you may want to attend. I am at UCSF and had similar scores to yours and got in as an out of stater. And I didn't attend an Ivy College, either. Several of my classmates also have similar MCAT scores to yours. UCSF is more interested in unique an interesting activities you've been a part of. I also think that UCSF accepts more out-of-staters than the other UCs. I'd say give it a shot. Don't underestimate yourself!

 

[Jillianrae]

UW is my state school as well. I interviewed at both UW and Wake Forest and was much more impressed with Wake. UW just didn't give me a very friendly feeling. Don't worry so much about reputation and choose schools that fit your learning style.

 

[subee]

From your screen name, I was wondering if you went to brown. I graduated there last year with very similar stats as yourself (4.0, 34S, PBK, Honors Thesis, 2 1/2 years of research), applied only to UCs and would be happy to help. I am off to UCLA next year and also can answer questions about the school (based on what I know so far). (Also it might be interesting if we had classes at Brown together if you went there...just wondering).

 

[subee]

oh, I should mention I am a California resident.

 

[Deuce 007 MD]

Originally posted by batman123
Nothing can be taken for granted in this process, especially with the tip-top places. That being said, I think the OP's list of schools are a good mix, but that he/she should consider some "less selective" places (I cringe when I use that term),.

I agree with batman, in medicine you well learn it is always better to err on the safe side. That being said apply to some more safety schools, just in case. You'll feel alot better going threw the process w/an acceptance on Oct 15 then playing the waiting game until Aug.

 

[ShaylaFinn]

Hi Brownie - I agree that you've got a strong app and a good chance for admission. However, since you're from Washington state, maybe you should add a few more "moderate" schools to your list. (BTW, there's absolutely nothing wrong w/ Wash state, it's just that even some private schools give special consideration to their own state residents. So unfortunately, you have "home field advantage" at only 1 school). In addition to Tulane and Wake Forest, consider adding Jefferson, George Washington, & Georgetown. And definitely include the med school assoc. with your undergrad, if you haven't already.
Good Luck!

 

[Columbia22]

Brown and UCLA dont compare

 

[woolie]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
don't underestimate the ability of a bad LOR to screw you over. a friend of a friend had something like a 3.7/32+ and was rejected EVERYWHERE. he later found out that one of his LOR writers wrote an unfavorable letter.

Is it just me, am I too naive for my own good - but if someone asked me for a LOR and I didn't like them I would just say no, as politely as I could. I can't imagine actually writing something that I knew would prevent them from getting in. That writer must've been a real ________ (fill in the blank).

I think the Op has great stats !

 

[trubluwolv]

Originally posted by Columbia22
Brown and UCLA dont compare

c'mon now?! no love for the sweet state school?

now, you know just as well as i do that making statements like this on SDN without offering compelling evidence will definitely get you in trouble.

pray tell--why doesn't UCLA measure up to big bad Brown?

 

[trubluwolv]

or maybe you meant that Brown doesn't measure up to UCLA?
please elaborate

 

[deez4life]

hey let's not mud-sling at the state schools here... the year i graduated from hs, brown's acceptance rate was pushing 35%... much less selective than cali schools like UCLA or Berkley... just a thought

 

[wadoc]

Brownie,
Which WWAMI state are you from? UW's hard to get into, but it's easier if you're a non-WA WWAMI-er. Add UW before any Cali schools.